Railway signal-flag and staff



(No Model.)

J LANIUS. RAILWAY SIGNAL FLAG AND STAFF.

No.429,214. PatentedJune s, 1890.

WITNESSES B INVENTDR Q K @mm, I ,z%

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIcE.

JOHN LANIUS, or GALION, OHIO.

RAILWAY SIGNAL-FLAG AND STAFF.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 429,214, dated June 3, 1890.

Application filed October 9, 18 89.

Sen'al No. 326,643. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN LANIUS, a residentof Galion,in the county of Crawford and State of Ohio, a citizen of the United States, have invented a certain new and Improved Railway Signal-Flag and Staff; and I do hereby. declare the following to be a full, clear, and complete description thereof.

The nature of the said improvement relates to the manner of attaching the flag to the staff, and in constructing the staff flexible.

Preferably the flag is made of thin sheet metal and connected to the staff by loose loops or links, so that the flag will swing upon said staff. The flag is in two or more sections or parts, and the parts are secured together by a flexible connection.

The signal-flag is attached to the rear end of the caboose of a freight-train to indicate to the engineer that the train is intact, as the breaking or disconnection of any, part of the train between the engine and caboose will note to the engineer that a section has been severed by the fact of the flag not being in sight as the cars are left behind the moving train.

Engineers are at times misled by supposing the train to be severed, and stop the cars for the purpose of running back to integrate the detached sections, when, in fact, the train is integral; but owing to the flag, which is usually made of textile fabric, being, by the air-currents, blown back behind the caboose, or so wound up about the flag-staff as not to be seen from the enginecab, delay and danger are caused by stopping or delaying the train for the reason stated. The ordinary :flag-staif is rigid with a textile flag attached to it, which, as it extends out from the caboose or car to which it is attached, is liable to be broken away or detached by contact with passing trains in passing stations, and from other causes which occur on the road. When the signal-flag is not in sight from the engine, from this or any other cause, and the engineer arrests the train, supposing it to be severed, accident or delay is liable to follow, to prevent which is the purpose of said improvement in flag-signals, as hereinafter more fully described.

Figure 1 is a view of the signal and staff. Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the staff detached from the flag.

Like letters of reference refer to like parts in the several views.

The flag A is of thin sheet metal or other suitable material which may be capable of resisting the folding and winding about the staif by the action of the wind, as is the case with the ordinary flag of textile fabric. The fiag A is connected to the staff B by means of two or more loops 0, which loops are inovably adjusted in circular grooves in the staff, with a shoulder a at each end thereof, as shown in Fig. 1. The flag is fastened to the ends of the loops, which lap on the flag by screw-bolts or otherwise, as shown. The loops arranged in the circular grooves of the staif allow the swing or turn thereon, while the shoulders to a prevent the loops and flag from being detached from or slipping off the said staff.

The staff is represented in two sections B and B, which are attached together by the elastic connections D, the ends of which are expanded over collar ends E and F of the sections, as shown in Fig. 2, which connections contract around the collars or ends E and F, respectively, of the shaft-sections. This contraction of the elastic connections around the collars prevents separation and forms a spring between the sections. Other forms of spring or elastic connection can be used-such as a spiral, strap, or rod spring-without disturbing the nature of the invention. An indiarubber'spring connection is deemed preferable, as it can be either solid or tubular. In the latter case a spiral spring or other suitable material may be inserted in the tube to stiffen it, if required.

The end B of the staff is inserted in a socket attached to the caboose, so that the staff and flag will project from the side in full view. I11 case it is brought in contact with obstructions or a passing train, or collides from other cause, the staff will be moved away or turned from such obstruction, as indicated by the lines I) c, Fig. 2-that is, the elastic connection D will cause the flag and staff to move from the contaction with the obstacle, depending upon the direction of the train,

the staff, as soon as relieved, springing back with its flag from b to c, as the strain may be, to its normal position, as indicated in Fig. 1.

As the flag A is of stiff material, it will not wind up or fold around the staff by the force of the air, as is the case with the signal-flag made of textile material, and the flag A, by its own gravity and its hinged or jointed connection with the staff, will cause the flag to assume a pendent position, or nearly so, which admits of the flag being seen at all times from the cab, thereby avoiding the danger and delays resultant from the use of the ordinary flag for snchpurposes.

\Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In combination with a railway signal-flag, a staff consisting of two or more sections joined together by means of an elastic indiarubber attachment to the terminals of said sections, and arranged to form an interposed flexible part of the staff between the said terurinals, whereby the staff is relieved from fracture with displacement of the .flag when brought in contact with obstructions in the regular operation of moving trains, substantially as set forth.

2. A signal-flag and staff for railway-trains, consisting of a thin sheet of: metal with loops 0 attached thereto and movably connected to the staff in circular grooves, in combination with the elastic india-rubber attachment to the terminals of the staff-sections arranged to form a resilient section interposed between said terminals, in the manner essentially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN LANIU S.

Witnesses:

F. A. KEEN, JonN GANSHARN. 

